F-O-R-D (you pick the acronym definition)

[Gypsi]

Have to run this morning. Daughter truck rescue was just as normal as my daughter is, she put the engine and transmission in the truck I am now driving. It was empty of both when she bought the truck.

but her 1990 Bronco was designed by Ford, we analyzed their engineering while under the truck last night. Their goal in the design, putting the drive shaft THROUGH the oil pan, and a cross member under it, was such that no normal person could change the oil pan gasket on their Bronco, it would have to return to the dealership and have the engine pulled, with a minimum of 3 service persons, and a huge bill, to change that gasket. Half an inch clearance achieved only by tipping it front or back, 4 pc gasket, 2 rubber pieces around the drive shaft penetration, 2 long ones on the sides, and a mounting bracket to hold up. I gave her 3 hours, still couldn't get the front piece on, she called a mechanic who wasn't exhausted and frozen. No idea if she got it going, but I am sure that she will not attempt that in her driveway again. If I'd have seen it before she took it apart, we would not have tried. Me being a big part of that we. She tried because she could see gasket hanging out of the seal at odd angles from the last guy that tried. She just bought this bronco 4 months ago and has been losing a lot of oil in her sloping driveway.

But I was a good mom, by my definition. I showed up, I found a jackstand to hold the weight of the pan, I did not yell at her. She'll handle that herself for the next week.

Gypsi
(got to go to work this morning, will check out the research later)

[Fishman43]

Automobile engineers seem to make some of the craziest design ideas in the world... I always thought engineers were supposed to find the easiest way to solve a problem! That being said, two of my favorites (and I even like Fords):

Fix Or Repair Daily

Found On Road Dead

[Barry Digman]

Cars are engineered for maximum manufacturing efficiency, not ease of maintenance. I have yet to see an oil spout that made sense from an owner perspective.

[BEES4U]

F-O-R-D

First On Race Day

[Solomon Parker]

Cars are made to be put together quickly and efficiently. Taking them back apart is not the manufacturer's problem.

Buy something that won't need to be fixed while you own it. Problem solved. My dad restores classic cars. He always wants a car that he can work on. He doesn't like the new ones because of the computer. I on the other hand go for cars that don't need to be worked on, even though I know how to do it.

Learn how to pull an engine.

[wildbranch2007]

but her 1990 Bronco was designed by Ford

move to N.Y. you wouldn't have tthis problem, the salt would have eaten away the body years before you had an engine problem.

[Riff Raff]

Gypsi, give her an A for effort; sometimes we jump in head first and then quickly realize, it's the shallow end. But in today's times, my hat's off to anyone who tries to tackle a repair themselves and those around willing to help and not criticize (or just grumble quietly)!

Not familiar with the Bronco, but from the description, I may have tried to remove the driveshaft. Of course, I would have let this thing sit until I figured it out but then again, I would make sure I had another backup in case I couldn't cinch the thinking cap on tight. Needless to say, I used to bicycle a lot!

[TWall]

I now drive a Ford Focus, first car, and Ford, I have ever had. I love the gas mileage. It is a nice little car, does what I want it to do, get from A to B efficiently.

I once had a small Mitsubishi pickup. While an inexpensive vehicle it was well designed. You could change the oil without having to crawl under it. I didn't have it long. I figure the body would have rusted out quickly.

Tom

[Gypsi]

Well, I don't mind tinkering with my 1975 chevy, but for most major repairs I have a 4 letter word called "shop". But I am proud of my ineptitude last night. My daughter is far more competent than I am, and has promised to never call me to help her again. She also says the next time that anything needs done on the Bronco, she will have her hair done, get a manicure, put on heels, and visit her local mechanic's shop.

She sold me her easy to work on truck, the 1987 Ranger. I have some tweaking to do (minor parts, and I have both the book and a shop for backup). I may not be qualified to change the engine on her Ranger, but she is. And she may help me put an engine in the chevy, when we both have time, I have money, AND I find a decent engine. May have to get one from the dealership.

I do not like new vehicles with fiberglass bodies with styrofoam underneath, and computers. I'd rather have to tinker or take to the shop. The older they are the EASIER they are to fix, or they would already be in the junk yard.

Gypsi

[Michael Bush]

It's not just Ford. I remember the first time I tried to help a friend change the spark plugs on her Vega. I got to the back plug and couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get it out. I called a mechanic friend and asked him if he knew any tricks to get it out. He said, sure, you just pull the Engine. i thought he was kidding. he was not.

[beehonest]

Foolish Owner Regrets Decision, Freakin Old Rebuilt Dodge and it is First On Race Day the first to the pit area! I have had them all Chrysler, Ford and GM, Toyota, Nissan the imports win hands down. Although Toyota has been in bed with Chevy for a few years now we might have to rename the company Toylet(Toilet) thats where they seam to be going.But none of them are what they used to be, nowdays cars are manufactured to break down, they make a ton of money in parts. I had a 2002 Focus, the wife wanted it, the worst car I have ever had! It only had 20,000 miles when we got it, before it hit 60,000 had to replace three wheal bearings, window motor twice, altenator twice, starter and the thermostatand the housing. The darndest thing I ever saw with the thermostat, I have been working on cars since I was 12 years old. The guages would go crazy, I was thinking electrical right, I happened to look on the web to see if it was a common problem. Everyone was saying the thermostat, I thought they were crazy. I figured for 5 bucks I will see, sure enough, the gauges worked fine after that!

[bhfury]

F-O-R-D
Freakin' Okies Really Dig'em!!!

[hemichuck]

F.O.R.D.= Freakin Out Right Disaster...I'm a chrysler guy(thus the name hemichuck) but seriously,I've only owned 2 Fords in my life(out of literaly hundreds of cars)and both of them were fairly decent. My first was a 390 powered F250 carhauler that we called Red Hot & Rolling because we would load a car on the back and a trailer with another car behind it and run 70mph all the way to the track. The other was an old Eagle snack delivery step van I bought from anheiser busch. It had a 300 6 cylinder and I added a 4 barrel intake and a set of headers. It was an all aluminum 16 ft body and we would load it full of parts and drive it hundreds of miles to swap meets. And I even made money when I sold them.

[Gypsi]

My first car was a Ford, on 1969's, it's always the solenoid.
My 1990 ford pickup was a plumber's nightmare, made worse by the lift kit.
The 87 ranger, not bad, parts are accessible.
Daughter's 1990 Bronco needs a shop... plumber's nightmare.

Not the manufacturer so much as there are good models and bad models in everything, and one with accessible parts will have lower maintenance costs over the lifetime of the truck. (and older trucks had longer lifetimes - I don't think new vehicles are intended to last more than 7 years, having watched my helper's fender fracture...)

[Steve_G]

They are all bad at this time.

The problem as I see it, and yes I work for an OEM supplier to the automakers is that the designers today are not car guys.
If they were forced to have to fix what they design then it would be a lot more simple in design and a lot more easy to fix.

Too many of the young engineers I work with rely too much on the computer and not enough on actual knowledge of what they are working on.
That combined with short design schedules and the emphasis for ease of manufacturing is what got us into this mess we see today.

Owned 3 Fords, my 88 Sable was the worst, when stopped next to another Sable the first thing said during the conversation was "what have you had to replace".

Just my 2 cents.

Steve